Like a Blessing of the Wind
by Delusion Dreamer - Iota
Summary: For the CPU-to-be, it was always easy to decide what to do with her mornings. Simply put, her plans never really changed: get up, watch some cartoons and then study until lunch. In that regard, this day is much like any other... or at least it was supposed to be. Instead, here she is, babysitting Ms. Hakozaki's young, unsurprisingly annoying daughter. Honestly, what a chore...


**_Here's something else! Because it seems like nobody cares enough to write cute prequel stories!_**

 ** _The heresy..._**

 ** _In any case, this is just another idea that popped up in my mind. Therefore, I wrote it, all the while listening to Neptunia The Animation's OST, "Fresh Again"!_**

 ** _Seriously, the songs are just about the only good things that came from that trainwreck. It's amazing, really._**

 ** _But I digress!_**

 ** _To be honest, I_** ** _feel like I might be giving the Leanbox crew a bit too much attention..._**

 ** _... Then again, it's not like I have any issues with that!_**

 ** _Time to start the party!_**

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 **•Like a Blessing of the Wind•**

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Vert is confused.

That's certainly the best way to describe this situation. After all, to call the seemingly 9-year-old girl merely puzzled would be quite the understatement.

Here she is, clad in a somewhat thick long-sleeved green dress, at 8 in the morning, standing on the green carpet of her large, luxurious room, about to go watch some funny cartoons in the living room before heading to a long session of studying—

"..."

"...?"

—and also _staring at an even smaller girl_ , who looks just like the picture of innocence.

The tiny one—for she seems to be around 3'5'' for Vert's 4'4''—seems to be around 4, with green hair that reaches her shoulders adorned by a dark X hairclip, and clad in a sleeveless black dress which does nothing hide her snow white arms. As she stands there, abset—bsentind— _thoughtlessly_ hugging a pink bunny plushie, she just stares back with big, curious red eyes.

"..."

Vert tilts her head quizzically, her blonde ponytail swaying at the movement. The younger girl does the same, clearly interested in what the "funny lady" is doing.

Said "funny lady," of course, also has no idea what's going on.

Visibly lost, the CPU-to-be looks at her caretaker standing beside the little girl. The young woman, who seems like an older version of the small girl—or, rather, it's the smaller one who looks like a tiny copy—is dressed like a maid as always, with her long green hair let free, a serene smile over her lips and gentle scarlet eyes.

And so, Vert lets out a simple question, pointing at the unknown child.

"What's that?"

"..."

The woman's expression twitches a bit, though why is something the blonde doesn't know.

"'That,'" she begins, gesturing at the smaller greenette, "is my daughter. Say hi to Vert, dear."

At her mother's words, the tiny one raises a hand over her head. "I-I'm Chika! Naiss too mechuu, miss!"

"... Ah." Vert's question answered, interested azure eyes focus on analyzing this 'Chika' person.

Faced with the taller girl's sudden strong gaze, she suddenly gets shy and looks away, bringing down her formerly raised hand to hug her plushie tighter.

"..." Not a moment later, the blonde's sight goes back to her caretaker. "Why is she here?"

"Well, you see..." Ms. Hakozaki trails off, looking somewhat troubled. "My husband has found himself working a few extra hours today, and our usual babysitter isn't available. Since Chika is already four, I believed there would be no issues with bringing her along."

"Ah," Vert repeats, looking at the small one once again. She's still embracing her bunny, though not as tight as before. Following that, the blonde looks at the woman once again, her eyes asking a question she herself can't put with words without sounding a bit mean.

"Oh, of course." Ms. Hakozaki just smiles even brighter as she brings her hands together, understanding the CPU-to-be. "As much as I would love to keep an eye on her, I have some tasks I must deal with first. I thought that maybe you could play with her for the time being~"

"..."

Cautiously, Vert looks at Chika, who somehow managed to move behind her mother's legs when the blonde was looking up.

Incidentally, the little girl is also stealing a glance at her—

"!"

— _was_ stealing a glance at her. Now the tiny greenette's features are completely covered by her plushie, as if she really believes pressing the bunny against her face will hide her.

"..."

At that, Vert brings up her confused eyes towards Ms. Hakozaki. "I'm going to play with her?"

"I'm glad you understand!" With a far-too-wide smile, the woman steps aside, eliciting a startled squeal from the tiny girl as she realizes she's not covered anymore. "In that case, have fun! If you need anything, just ask a maid!"

With those words, she simply turns towards the door and walks away.

"W-Wait!" "Mom?"

By the time both girls speak up, however, Ms. Hakozaki has already taken a left by the doorway and disappeared into the Basilicom's mostly white, elegant hallways.

And that leaves the two girls alone in the room, one looking startled and the other just plain confused.

"..."

"..."

Frowning, Vert brings her sight to Chika with a look of resignation, the tiny greenette still staring quizzically at the door with her plushie in hands.

Well, what now...?

"... Hm?" Noticing the pair of eyes on her, the small girl turns to the CPU-to-be curiously, blinking at her.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...!"

With a yelp, she brings the bunny to her face once more.

And Vert can do nothing but sigh.

So, this is her fate, isn't it? To take care of this little girl for an unse... unspefi... an unknown amount of time.

Small kids... They're supposed to be trouble, aren't they? Is she going to make dumb questions? Start crying at anything? That's what they do on TV, right?

 _'Gosh, how absotu... laly? Absolately? Sotaly?'_ The blonde lightly shakes her head. _'This is annoying...'_

Still, Ms. Hakozaki told her to play with this girl. Even if she'd rather just abandon her and go watch something funny.

... Nothing Vert can do about it, she supposes.

Holding in her desire to let out another sigh, the CPU-to-be frowns, still looking at the tiny girl trying to hide behind her plushie. So, how should she do this...?

"Do you want to play something?" the blonde just up and asks. Best to deal with it directly, no?

"..." Shyly, the Chika girl peeks from behind her bunny. Tentatively, Vert gives her a just slightly forced smile—

"!"

—and once again the little girl covers her face with the plushie, this time holding it noticeably tighter.

Just like that, the blonde's smile vanishes as quickly as it came, replaced by a scowl.

"..."

 _'Well, isn't this one a full ha—a handful...'_

This isn't going to be very fun, is it?

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All things considered, it's not particularly difficult to grab the attention of a toddler. Heck, you could just wave some random thing in front of them and it'd become their focus instantly!

 _Keeping_ said attention, however, is the real problem.

At least that's the conclusion Vert reaches as she blankly observes the tiny girl, hugging the plushie with her left arm as she curiously eyes the playing cards strewn all over the carpet, occasionally moving them around for no discerna—scerninu—for some unknown reason.

Just five minutes ago she was looking all over the room like it was some sort of secret chamber. And, after that, she began mumbling some unintili— _weird_ song to herself while shaking her bunny as if it was dancing. As if that wasn't enough, this Chika always seemed to cower whenever she noticed the older girl looking, like she was some sort of evil dragon.

Really, it's a miracle that she's not doing that right now, too occupied with messing with her newly obtained cards to notice her surroundings.

Little kids... They really are annoying.

"Hey! Hey!"

"Hm?"

Out of nowhere, Chika grabs a card with her free hand, showing it to Vert. "Wah dis?"

At the question, the blonde can't help but stare quizzically. Now the greenette is suddenly unafraid of her? Seriously, this girl...

"It's a four of diamonds," she answers curtly. No need to drag this out, after all.

Forming an "o" of understanding with her mouth, the little greenette places the card down, only to take another in her little hand and turn it towards the older girl. "An dis?"

"A four of clubs," Vert replies rather absentmindedly—she did get that one right, didn't she?

The CPU-to-be's clear lack of interest, however, does nothing to stop Chika from repeating the same action. "Dis?"

"Another four... of spades."

"An dis one?"

"Now that's a four of hearts."

"Hm?" At the last answer, the little girl suddenly seems confused as she turns the card around to look at it. With curious eyes, she looks back at Vert. "Miss, aryuu a hart?"

"Huh?" The blonde raises an eyebrow at that. Chika is aware of her title? Well, Ms. Hakozaki probably told her something about it, but for a girl so young to remember such a thing is somewhat impressive nonetheless. "I suppose..."

The greenette blinks at that, tilting her head. "Yuu... shupauz?"

"..." As she stares at the younger one, it takes much willpower for Vert not to sigh right then. Right, a small kid is a small kid, no matter how good her memory is. "... Yes. I am a Heart."

Even if not an official one just yet.

"Oh." At the answer, the little girl nods. With a pensive expression, she slowly looks down at the cards, as if pondering something. In the meanwhile, Vert just continues to stare, patiently waiting for Chika's next action—

"...!"

—only for the little girl to flash a _wide, innocent smile_ at the CPU-to-be, hugging her bunny plushie even closer. "Sankyuu fo answein!"

 _'Brzgthl_ _.'_

Suddenly, Vert's frown twitches violently, only for the blonde to forcefully stop it with a palm.

What was that...?

Really, why did that happen?!

"Hm, hm, hm-hm-hm~" Somehow not even noticing the older girl's sudden distress and confusion, Chika doesn't even hesitate in going back to looking at the cards strewn around, as if the previous conversation never happened.

Letting her hand fall from her mouth, this time Vert _does_ sigh.

 _'Seriously, little kids are...'_

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"Hehehe!"

"..."

As she lies down on her big bed, Vert doesn't even react to the toddler using her stomach as a pillow while looking through another set of cards, these tarot ones. Her bunny plushie, forma— _formerly_ so important to the little girl, now lies discarded right next to her, left alone on the bed.

Now, if only Chika did the same to her...

"Hihihi..."

"..."

She's just getting more and more annoying...

Curious as to what is making the girl giggle so much, blue eyes glance towards the stack of cards in her grasp. The front card shows a blonde man with a curly hair adorned by a golden crown and clad in red robes, holding a sword in his right hand and a scale in his left grasp.

That one is... Justice, right? What's so funny about it?

"Hehe..."

"..."

The world will never know, it seems, for she places the card behind the deck before looking at the next one. Just then, though, confusion shows up all over her face.

"Hm... Hey," the little greenette begins, showing the older girl the image: an old man in blue robes, holding a cane and a lantern. "Wah dis?" She asks, as notably eloquent as ever.

For what has to be the thousandth time today, the CPU-to-be almost sighs. Figures Chika would eventually make a question... Might as well answer, she supposes.

Still glancing sideways, Vert opens her mouth. "That's the hermit," she replies curtly, just wanting to be done with this conversation.

The way the little girl seems to grow even more confused, though, quickly disp—sipas—makes that notion disappear.

"Her... mit?" Chika attempts to repeat, actually spelling it right for once.

"It's someone who... does things alone... to find something out..." the blonde tries to explain as best as she can, which isn't really much. "... It's a smart person."

"Ah," the greenette replies simply, looking back at the card.

And with that, the interaction is over, Vert supposes. Well, that didn't take much time at all—

"Eh mai gonna be alon?" Chika suddenly speaks up, her eyes still fixated on the image.

"Huh?"

At that, Vert actually blinks. How did this girl get that idea? "Why would you think that?"

"Becuz, becuz..." The greenette turns around, her big, curious red eyes focusing on the older girl. "Mom say I'm smar, sho..."

"... Right." Shaking her head, the CPU-to-be lightly berates herself for even making that question. Of course it'd something be that. "You're not going to be alone," she says matter-of-factly, finally turning her head to face the little girl.

"Really?" Chika asks, her expression so incredibly _trusting_ Vert herself suddenly finds it difficult to maintain eye contact.

Which is why she hastily looks away, focusing on the ceiling once more. "Y-Yes..."

Really, what else could she answer right now?

"Hehehehe..." Unsurprisingly, the little greenette lets out a few more giggles, no doubt happy at the answer.

Seriously, kids are so simple...

"..."

It's then, however, that Vert commits the mistake of glancing at Chika.

"...!"

In an instant, her eyes widen ever so slightly.

 _Another smile._

A second wide, _pure_ smile, made of nothing but joy, silently found its way to the tiny girl's face when the CPU-to-be wasn't looking.

 _This girl._

 _It's like she's **shining**._

And, if that wasn't enough...

"Sankyuu, Miss Beru!"

 _ **"!"**_

Beru.

 _Beru._

 ** _Beru._**

Just like that, Vert's heart skips a beat.

 _What._

 _Was._

 _That?!_

"Hehehe!" Not even noticing the shock spreading all over the blonde's features, Chika just goes back to looking at the tarot cards, giggling to herself for no reason.

This time, Vert has to hastily bring an arm up and _bite down her sleeve_ not to let out any sound.

 _She doesn't even know what sort of sound was about to escape her lips._

What she does know, however, _is that this is all this little girl's fault somehow._

 _'Seriously, little kids are...'_

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"Hm~! Hm~! Hm~!"

"..."

It's not exactly shocking that the two girls eventually ended up back on the floor. Still, as the CPU-to-be sits with her legs sprawled over the green carpet, she's not really sure about what to think of the situation she finds herself in.

Namely, _having Chika on her lap as she makes use of a coloring book Vert found amidst her things._

"Hehe, hm~!"

"..."

This... is very distracting, the blonde muses with a scowl, watching the little girl hum an unknown song as she grabs a crayon next to her, starting the process of coloring the sun green without a clear justification. A moment later, the greenette grabs the bunny plushie lying next to her for absolutely no reason, giving it a hug before abandoning it once more and going back to coloring.

As always, her actions make no sense...!

Ever worse, it's simply _impossible_ to ignore her like this!

 _And what's with this desire to hug her?!_

"Hm?" To top it off, it's then that Chika looks up at the older girl with a big smile, as if asking whether she did a good job.

"Yes, yes, the sun is very pretty..." Vert mumbles, bringing up a hand to pet the little greenette. As expected, that elicits some strangely nice-sounding giggles from her as she goes back to coloring, thankfully painting the grass with its proper hue this time... Wait, is she also painting the house green?

Is she going to color _everything_ green?

 _'Honestly, I'll never understand children...'_

"Oh, what is this I see~?"

At the sudden voice, both girls turn towards the doorway curiously. Standing there, with both hands joined before her much like any other maid, is Ms. Hakozaki, looking as bright as ever with a big smile on her face.

The effect of her presence is instantaneous, with Chika hurriedly dropping both her coloring book and crayon alike, grabbing her bunny and making it disappear into her inventory before hopping to her little feet. "Mom!" the tiny girl squeals happily as she takes off towards her mother.

Ready for it, Ms. Hakozaki simply reaches for her giggling daughter before scooping her up, just in time to be embraced by a pair of small arms. "Hahaha, yes, yes, I'm sure you've been a good girl."

"..."

At the sight, Vert can't help but frown. So that girl all huggy with her mom, but the one and only CPU-to-be of Leanbox is just some living encylo—cyclole— _book that answers questions_?

How... _annoying_...!

Even so, those thoughts don't prevent the blonde from instantly destroying said frown when her caretaker's gentle red eyes fall on her, even as the little girl continues to snuggle against the woman. "My, it seems you've both had quite a lot of fun."

"Huh?" Vert blinks. What does she mean by that?

Filled with confusion, blue eyes wander all over the room—

"... Ah."

—only to see nothing but toys, cards and books strewn around, all of which saw some use sometime during the past hour.

In a moment, heat raises up to the CPU-to-be's cheeks. For her room to be seen in such a state...

"T-This is!" she begins, hastily scrambling to her feet before shooting a panicked look at her caretaker. "It's just, erm, this isn't—"

"Gosh, no need to be so startled~" is all Ms. Hakozaki says, her smile making her amusement clear. "Just make sure to store everything later."

"I-I..." As she avoids her eyes, Vert can almost _feel_ her blush darkening. "Y-Yes..."

"There's another good girl!" With those words, the woman manages to widen her smile even further, somehow only adding to the blonde's embarrassment.

"Hehehe!" As if that wasn't enough, it's then that the blonde notices Chika looking directly at her by the edge of her vision, still giggling in her mother's hold. "Good girl, good girl! Hehehe!"

Vert's entire body twitches, her shame slowly reaching critical mass.

 _'This is all your fault...!'_

"In any case, I should now be able to take care of Chika myself for the time being," Ms. Hakozaki explains, not even trying to hide the clear amusement in her voice. "I shall leave you to your own devices for now. If you need anything, just call me, understood?"

"G-Got it..." the blonde mumbles, still looking away as she tries unsuccfu—sessu— _in vain_ to get her blush under control. In response, her caretaker simply lets out a few chuckles before turning around and walking away with the giggling girl in her arms.

Unsurprisingly, a big sigh of relief escapes Vert's lips.

Thank goodness this shameful experience is over...

"Oh, and before I forget," Ms. Hakozaki suddenly speaks up, halting right at the doorway and smiling back at the CPU-to-be. "If you're going to study, remember to take a break every hour or so~"

"Y-Yes, Mother..." the embarrassed blonde answers bashfully, her sight still firmly planted on a wall.

A moment later, she freezes.

Little by little, her mind processes what just escaped her mouth.

 _'... Ah.'_

With a sudden courage, as an utterly horrified expression gradually appears on her face, Vert slowly turns her head to fully face her caretaker.

The woman is standing there, her smiling expression completely stiff as if stopped in time. Chika, meanwhile, is just looking at the older girl and then back at her mother, clearly confused.

Just like that, in Vert's mind, only a single thought manifests itself.

 _'Someone end me.'_

Springing to action in a last-ditch attempt to save her dignity, the CPU-to-be hastily takes a step forward, opening her mouth. "Ms. Hakozaki, I just—"

"Work!" the woman suddenly shouts, instantly shutting Vert up. "I mean it seems I forgot to do something so I shall be going take care of your si— _Chika_ for a while longer okay!"

Before the blonde can respond to those lightning-fast words, the woman places her daughter down and pretty much bolts out of the room, turning left in the corridor and disappearing from view.

That leaves both Vert and Chika to simply stare blankly at the spot Ms. Hakozaki was.

However, while the little greenette is obviously doing so due to confusion, the CPU-to-be has a completely different reason altogether.

 _'... My life is over,'_ she thinks, bringing both hands to cover her face, as if to hide her shameful self from the world. _'There's no way I can recover from that.'_

Leanbox can get a new future CPU, can't it?

 _Because this one is definitely a bust._

"Hey. Hey. Hey." Unsurprisingly, it's then that an obvious someone starts tugging at Vert's green dress.

As if the situation wasn't bad as is...

Uncovering her face, the former CPU-to-be stares down at Chika, whose tiny right hand is grasping her dress while her small left arm is now around her bunny plushie. The little girl looks like she definitely has a question or two, given the way her curious red eyes are looking up.

Bracing herself for what's to come, Vert opens her mouth. "What is it?"

"Ish Beru ma big shis?"

 **"...!"**

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 _That moment._

 _It was that very moment which sealed the young CPU's fate._

 _Her features were frozen, her body was completely still, and her mind was attempting to decipher those words she heard._

 _No... Decipher would be the wrong term. After all, she knew exactly what the small child who would one day become her Oracle said._

 _The truth is, in that instant, Vert stopped thinking._

 _Without any rationality left, devoid of any restraints which a proper mind would have imposed upon her, her body acted._

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Vert hugged Chika.

She's not sure why. She's not sure when. Heck, she's not even sure _how_.

But the reality of the situation is beyond clear. One moment she stopped paying attention, _and the next there was a little girl in her arms._

 _What was she even thinking?_

Well, she wasn't, clearly, _but that's even more worrying._

"Hm?" As opposed to the blonde's complete shock, the small greenette just seems somewhat confused at this development, looking up at the older girl with those eyes that just want to ask a question.

However, just as Vert is about to let go, freeing herself to properly freak out for embarrassing herself in front of both her caretaker and the woman's young daughter...

 _... Chika hugs her back._

"Hehehehe!" she giggles, a big smile on her face. "Big shis Beru, huggy huggy!"

 ** _'Asfhgrphsjdflakhdusbdf—'_**

In the days to come, there is not a single doubt in Vert's mind that she'll feel shame upon as much as touching this memory. As the first CPU of Leanbox in many years, her position is one of untold responsibility. As such, her current actions are so far beyond disgraceful any citizen would probably question her ability to take such a role.

Right now, however?

"Beru!" Chika suddenly says, her voice filled with nothing but happiness directed at her "big sister."

 _And Vert squeals, hugging the young girl even tighter._

"Big shis! Big shis! Hahaha!"

It takes all her willpower not to let out an even _louder_ squeal.

 _'Seriously, little kids are...!'_

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" _So cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!_ " Chiemi Hakozaki lets out as quietly as she can, following that by biting into her sleeve as hard as possible to avoid revealing her position right outside the doorway. Without hesitation, she brings up her green smartphone taking numerous photos with complete abandon. "Gosh, should I put these in my Chika folder, or in my Vert folder? Both? Should I just merge them? So many possibilities...!"

"Need I say that you're acting very shamefully right now?"

"Hm?" Broken out of her cuteness-induced trance, Chiemi turns towards the opposite side of the doorway. Standing there, his back against the wall, is a lean, noticeably aged man clad in a dark uniform and green robe. His silver white hair descends to his back, while adorning his face is both a similarly colored thick moustache and a somewhat pointy goatee.

That is no other than Yvoire, the current Oracle of Leanbox. As the de facto leader of the nation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he deserves far more than simply respect.

With that in mind, the greenette shoots him a smirk and waves a dismissive hand at his direction. "What of it, old man? You were looking too, weren't you?"

"..." At those words, his expression twitches noticeably. "I simply wished to witness one more moment of growth of our future leader. I can't emphasize how important it is to raise her well; after all, she _is_ the first goddess we have had in quite a while."

If those words reached the official caretaker, she didn't show, simply giving Yvoire a teasing grin. "Eh, maybe if you hadn't done your job so well for so long..."

"Excuse me for taking my position seriously," the man retorts, letting out a long-suffering sigh. "In any case, should you not take Chika and allow Lady Vert to study by now? We _are_ past the scheduled time."

"Yeah, I could do that..." Chiemi begins with a smile, bringing a hand to her chin. "Or I could _not_ do that, and keep taking adorable pictures for a while longer."

"Chiemi, you—"

"These are your granddaughters, old man." The greenette smirks unabashedly. "Let them play around a bit more."

At those words, Yvoire closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. "You know there are many who would call it heresy to classify Lady Vert as such."

"I heard no denial there."

"... At least remember that lunch is soon."

With that, the Oracle of Leanbox turns around and walks away, leaving only a smiling maid by the doorway of the CPU-to-be's room.

 _'The old man is as grumpy as ever, it seems.'_

And he wonders why people don't believe she's his daughter.

Letting out a quiet chuckle, Chiemi once again peers into the bedroom. In there, Vert is still hugging Chika, letting out all sorts of adorable noises while the younger girl just giggles.

Not wasting any time, the woman raises her device and takes yet another picture.

 _'Yep, my sweet daughters~'_

Just like that, the official caretaker of the most important person in Leanbox reaches a simple decision.

"Hehehe~ So cute~"

 _She's totally bringing Chika as often as possible._

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 _ **Was today's order cuteness?**_

 _ **If not, too bad, I gave it to you anyway!**_

 _ **Needless to say, many people thought that Vert was the one who raised Chika when she talked about knowing the latter since she was little. Instead, I thought of this!**_

 _ **Both because it'd be adorable and because I find that it makes their relationship more interesting.**_

 _ **But mostly because of the adorableness.**_

 _ **In any case, I couldn't have done it without listening to the "Fresh Again." Seriously, it's scary how much that helped me write.**_

 _ **Well, that was that! Whether you enjoyed it or not, whether you have a big text or just a few words to say, don't forget to leave a review! Those are pretty good, y'know?**_

 _ **With that, I shall go write something else. Or at least try to. Can't just stay around doing nothing, can I?**_

 _ **I hope to see y'all in my next delusion!**_

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"..."

Sitting in her bed, the current CPU of Leanbox stares at the framed picture in her hands. Beyond the glass is something quite old: a photo of her considerably younger self embracing an even smaller Chika quite happily, with the greenette being all smiles.

Looking at it now, it makes her feel somewhat old. It is, without a doubt, a strange feeling.

She's still young, after all.

Chuckling to herself, the mature woman places the framed picture on the edge of the bed's inlay stand, the counter-like extension of the headboard already lined with PVC figures of many a series she knows of.

To think she would find such a thing while looking through her old possessions...

"Darling?"

Just barely preventing herself from letting out a 'meep' at the sudden voice, Vert turns around to find Chika staring at her curiously.

Gosh, that took her by surprise!

"C-Chika, dear," the blonde begins, trying to calm the heart hammering inside her chest, "may I ask that you be more careful about calling out to people? Heavens, I almost had a heart attack!"

"Ah, I apologize," is all the Oracle says, and strangely enough it's almost as if she doesn't mean it. It takes a moment for Vert to realize those scarlet eyes are focusing on something else, and a quick glance reveals that, as expected, it is the very same picture the CPU was staring at.

At that, Vert lets out a chuckle, standing up from her bed and smiling at the greenette. "Oh, I found it as I was searching for something to entertain the twins. Quite the treasure, no?"

"... I suppose." Directing her eyes towards the CPU, Chika assumes a more casual tone. "Anyway, the bra— _kids_ are going to arrive soon. I thought you'd like to be there to welcome them."

The blonde nods at her Oracle, her smile widening noticeably. "Indeed. I must thank you for notifying me." With those words, her feet begin to move, bringing her past the greenette who simply turns around to maintain eye contact. "Now, come. It wouldn't do to risk making our guests unhappy." And so, the woman directs her eyes forward, towards the approaching doorway.

Unfortunately, it seems she has disposed of most old possessions by now; not a single coloring book or nostalgic tabletop game could be found amidst her drawers, after all. It seems she'll have to make do with what has already been presented to those two in their past visits.

There goes surprising them, she supposes.

"Um, darling..."

"Hm?" Stopping in her tracks, Vert glances back at Chika.

The greenette is still standing next to the bed, looking unsure about something. After a moment, she directs her eyes to the framed picture, and then back at the CPU of Leanbox, her expression strangely hesitant. "Well, back then we... I mean... When we were younger..." It's then that she shakes her head, as if attempting to dispel any confusion, before fixing slightly more focused eyes on Vert. "Why did you stop treating me like your little sister?"

"..."

Rather than answering immediately, the CPU instead tears her eyes away from the greenette, once again looking at the doorway. After a moment, she lets out a big sigh, and can almost _see_ the other woman frowning behind her.

Finally, Vert turns around, giving her Oracle a kind smile. "I must apologize. It seems I cannot be satisfied with only one adorable little sister..." She winks. "Even if no other is as cute as my Chika~"

As she once directs her view forward, the utterly flabbergasted expression on the greenette's face is an outright treat. Without waiting for a response, Vert resumes her pace, walking out of her bedroom and turning right in the hallway.

"W-Wait, darling?!" she hears Chika shout from the bedroom, and her noticeably panicked footsteps follow soon after. "Could you repeat that?!"

Even if she wanted to, no amount of willpower could have stopped the short, almost uncharacteristic laugh which escapes the blonde's lips as she hastens her pace.

"Vert?! Wait a moment!"

Yep. That's definitely her cute little sister.

Such is the thought which crosses the mind of the CPU of Leanbox as she makes her way to greet the incoming Loweean Candidates, with her very own Oracle in pursuit.

And, back in her chambers, in full view of all who wish to see, remains a simple framed photo, depicting a fond, bright past filled with happy memories.

It may have been an accidental find, an object stored away long ago for a reason not even the CPU herself can remember. But that doesn't change a simple fact, a decision made by Vert only five minutes ago, perhaps whimsically, and yet not one she can possibly regret.

That special picture, taken long ago by the woman she calls Mother? The purest depiction of a bright past, happy and filled with nothing but fond memories? Regarding it, the CPU of Leanbox can make this one statement with utmost certainty...

"Darling, slow down! At least let me hear it again!"

"My, you mustn't act so rashly, Chika~!"

"Veeeeert!"

 _That's not going back into a drawer any time soon._

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 **•Like a Blessing of the Wind•**

 **~END~**

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